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Gone in Gilford: A chief shifts blame

EDITORIAL

Kevin Keenan was chief of police for the Town of Gilford from October of 2011 until Wednesday night, when he resigned at the selectmen’s meeting. He acknowledged that he had “struck up a relationship with another officer.”

Keenan had been on paid administrative leave since Aug. 28. Selectmen initially refused to give a reason for the suspension, but the public was to learn later that the married Keenan was under investigation for allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with Student Resource Officer Holly Harris.

Keenan said on Wednesday night that he had told selectmen of the “relationship,” and he understood there would be an investigation. But he complained that the investigation turned into “a hostile interrogation.” He expected polite questioning over cups of tea in the parlor?

Then he shifted the blame, saying “the selectmen put me in a no-win situation.”

It seems to us that when a chief has an inappropriate “relationship” with a subordinate officer, it is not the selectmen who have put him in a no-win situation.

Adultery is a crime in New Hampshire. So not only did the chief compromise his ability to objectively supervise a junior officer, but depending on the nature of the relationship, he might have opened himself up to criminal charges or blackmail. Sensible selectmen would understandably have a problem with this. For Keenan to blame them for his troubles shows yet another example of poor judgment.